Home care attendant vs direct care provider

The differences between home care attendants and direct care providers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a direct care provider has an average salary of $29,470, which is higher than the $26,059 average annual salary of a home care attendant.

The top three skills for a home care attendant include patients, home health and companionship. The most important skills for a direct care provider are CPR, developmental disabilities, and mental health.

Home care attendant vs direct care provider overview

	Home Care Attendant	Direct Care Provider
Yearly salary	$26,059	$29,470
Hourly rate	$12.53	$14.17
Growth rate	36%	36%
Number of jobs	235,912	117,168
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	-	-

What does a home care attendant do?

A home care attendant is a health care worker whose primary job is to provide care and assistance to the elderly and people with disabilities. Your day-to-day duties will include monitoring and recording the condition of patients, performing housekeeping and laundry, and providing personal care services such as dressing and bathing. In addition, you will assist patients in caring for themselves by teaching them how to use a walker, cane, and personal hygiene equipment. As a home care attendant, you are also expected to adhere to asepsis procedures and standards to maintain a secure, healthy, and safe environment.

What does a direct care provider do?

A Direct Care Worker specializes in providing care and assistance to patients, typically to the elderly. Their responsibilities include preparing and feeding meals, administering medication and other treatments, and monitoring their conditions, updating the physician or the patients' families regularly. They must also assist patients in various hygienic tasks such as bathing, dressing, brushing teeth, or going to the toilet. There are instances when Direct Care Workers must perform various household tasks such as laundry, washing the dishes, shopping for groceries, and running errands as needed.

Home care attendant vs direct care provider salary

Home care attendants and direct care providers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Home Care Attendant	Direct Care Provider
Average salary	$26,059	$29,470
Salary range	Between $17,000 And $38,000	Between $20,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Watertown Town, MA	Olympia, WA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Dignity Health	Washington State University
Best paying industry	Media	Health Care

Differences between home care attendant and direct care provider education

There are a few differences between a home care attendant and a direct care provider in terms of educational background:

	Home Care Attendant	Direct Care Provider
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Most common major	Nursing	Psychology
Most common college	-	-

Home care attendant vs direct care provider demographics

Here are the differences between home care attendants' and direct care providers' demographics:

	Home Care Attendant	Direct Care Provider
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%	Male, 23.6% Female, 76.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 8.0% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 7.8% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between home care attendant and direct care provider duties and responsibilities

Home care attendant example responsibilities.

Manage clients bills, paid them, buy groceries, take complete care of their responsibilities.
Self-Direct and empower, providing hygiene care, hospice and respite care to Alzheimer's patients and patients requiring long-term assistance.
Provide companionship and conversation, stabilization, and assistance with walking, and providing medication and appointment reminders for assign patients.
Maintain all confidential personnel files and CPR compliance records.
Ensure that HHA's are trained to administer the required care.
Interview applicants for HHA training program, and general clerical duties and some front reception coverage.

Direct care provider example responsibilities.

Require certification in MANDT and CPR.
Coach and train clients to improve their daily living (ADL), social interaction and job skills.
Provide instruction and assist the consumers with active daily living (ADL) skills such as cooking, bathing, dressing.
Provide caring and companionship to elderly and developmentally disable consumers and provide primary resident care and assistance with daily living activities.
Facilitate exercise, vocational, arts-n-crafts, and daily living skills groups for consumers with DD.

Home care attendant vs direct care provider skills

Common home care attendant skills

Patients, 19%
Home Health, 16%
Companionship, 14%
CPR, 6%
Meal Prep, 5%
Patient Care, 4%

Common direct care provider skills

CPR, 24%
Developmental Disabilities, 23%
Mental Health, 5%
Direct Care, 4%
Intellectual Disabilities, 4%
Home Health, 4%

Home Care Attendant vs. similar jobs

Home Care Attendant related careers

Home Care Attendant related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Personal Care and Attendants Industry
Home Care Attendant
Home Care Attendant vs Direct Care Provider

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse personal care and attendants jobs